Highlights
◽ Strategic Partnership: Altera and Silicom Denmark announce a collaboration to integrate P4 enabled design for Gateway applications into Silicom’s ThunderFjord 400GE SmartNIC, aiming to elevate network performance and flexibility.
◽ Target use cases: This integration addresses critical networking challenges, offering improved data throughput, reduced latency, and scalable solutions for Data Centers and Telecom operators.
Introduction
Copenhagen, Denmark – February 28, 2025
Altera and Silicom Denmark are pleased to announce a groundbreaking collaboration to integrate P4 programmable Gateway applications into Silicom’s ThunderFjord 400GE SmartNIC. This collaboration leverages the strengths of both companies to revolutionize network performance while providing a flexible and scalable solution tailored for modern network infrastructures.
Addressing Network Challenges
Silicom’s ThunderFjord SmartNIC with the P4 programmability enables solutions for:
◽ Smart Switch use cases: ThunderFjord can support many Link speeds and link connections over its 2xQSFPDD and additional 4xQSFP28 front port interfaces, incl many breakout options. It provides the option to serve various connection types from single 400GE PAM4 to many 10/25GE links in traditional NRZ modulation mode. With P4, gateway functions like CGNAT and GSRv6 can be supported with a high degree of flexibility.
◽ UPF/AGF: The ThunderFjord SmartNIC is available with FPGA models featuring on-die HBM2E memory. This provides the extreme memory bandwidths needed to facilitate advanced packet processing features that can enhance HQoS functions and other high memory bandwidth intensive applications. These capabilities make it ideal for implementing User Plane Function (UPF) and Access Gateway Function (AGF) solutions in 5G networks and beyond.
This collaboration between Altera and Silicom Denmark represents a significant advancement in programmable network infrastructure, offering network professionals unprecedented flexibility, performance, and control in addressing modern networking challenges.
Silicom
István Szőnyi, VP of Engineering at Silicom Denmark, shared insights into their selection process and the capabilities of their ThunderFjord SmartNIC
“After a thorough evaluation of all available options, our engineering team selected the Altera® Agilex™ M-series FPGA for its unique ability to meet the rigorous demands of next-generation networking using high bandwidth memory-intensive applications. Key factors in this decision included its support for 400GE and PCIe Gen5 x16, its versatile packaging options (including configurations with and without integrated HBM2E), and its advanced NoC-based memory controller, making it the industry’s first FPGA with DDR5 support. Furthermore, with an impressive 1.3M ALMs and 370Mb of M20K blocks, the Agilex M-series FPGA offers ample logic resources, eliminating potential bottlenecks for complex FPGA implementations.”
He further emphasized the innovative potential of Silicom SmartNIC:
“We offer a wide variety of applications and frameworks with our ThunderFjord SmartNIC, including P4 programmability. The ability to program the network data plane with P4, combined with the raw memory performance, opens a new era of innovation, enabling network professionals define and implement custom packet processing functions with rapid turnaround times, accelerating solution deployments.”
Altera
Mike Fitton , VP Product Line General Manager Market Development Group at Altera, highlighted the synergy between the ThunderFjord SmartNIC and P4-based network applications:
“The Silicom Denmark ThunderFjord SmartNIC is the perfect match for P4-based network applications. Its high-speed network interfaces with 2xQSFPDD, and an additional 4xQSFP28 add-on flyover card empower developers to create innovative solutions that can address the most pressing challenges in networking today, covering a wide range of link speeds ranging from 10GE to 400GE in one solution! We are confident that ThunderFjord will play a key role in driving the adoption of P4 in SmartNICs for infrastructure and shaping the future of network technology.”
He also commended Silicom’s commitment to user-friendly integration:
“Silicom provides comprehensive software drivers and tools that streamline the integration of ThunderFjord into existing data center and telco infrastructures. This focus on ease of use ensures that developers can focus on building their applications, rather than wrestling with complex hardware configurations
About Altera
Altera is a leading supplier of programmable hardware, software, and development tools that empower designers of electronic systems to innovate, differentiate, and succeed in their markets. With a broad portfolio of industry-leading FPGAs, SoCs, and design solutions, Altera enables customers to achieve faster time-to-market and unmatched performance in applications spanning data centers, communications, industrial, automotive, and more. For more information, visit www.altera.com
About Silicom Denmark
Silicom Denmark is a pioneering force in delivering cutting-edge networking solutions. With a commitment to ongoing innovation and a track record of success, Silicom Denmark stands as a trusted leader, shaping the future of networking.
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